Biz Briefs of the Week: August 16, 2012

Louisville’s Second Zaxby’s
Licensee Steve Brewer opened the doors to Louisville’s second Zaxby’s restaurant Aug. 6. The new restaurant is located at 5025 Mud Lane, near the Hillview Kroger. A Southeast favorite for chicken fingers and Buffalo wings, Zaxby’s will operate from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. The 3,370-square-foot location will seat 90 in Zaxby’s unique design – a bright, open interior décor complemented by custom vintage prints and school memorabilia. Zaxby’s also offers drive-thru services to meet the needs of customers on the go.

The new location will be the second for Jefferson County, and the 19th for the Bluegrass State. Zaxby’s currently operates more than 555 locations in 13 states. An alternative to fast food, Zaxby’s offers prepared-at-order chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads. The company ranked number seven in the 2012 Top 10 Excellent Large Fast-Food Chains With 500 Or More U.S. Units Quick-Track study published by Sandelman & Associates. For more information,
visit www.zaxbys.com.

KICC expansion study
The Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau Commission approved funding at a recent board meeting of a study to review the potential expansion of the Kentucky International Convention Center. The “Commission” is the policy-making body of the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, the community’s tourism marketing organization. Michael D. Howerton, LCVB Chair and Market Vice President and General Manager of The Louisville Marriott Downtown, led the board meeting in which the decision was made to help pay for a consultant to study the needs for Louisville’s growing convention business. LCVB President & CEO Jim Wood announced to the board that other agencies would be involved in the funding of the study, including The Kentucky Department of Travel, Greater Louisville Inc. and the Louisville Downtown
Development Corporation.

Requests for proposal were issued jointly by the LCVB and the Kentucky State Fair Board in March with nine firms submitting bids. Fentress Architects was selected and will be paid $200,000 for study results. Project work will begin immediately. For more information, contact the Louisville CVB Press Office. Send emails to sdallas@gotolouisville.com or syates@gotolouisville.com.

Bellewood receives Grant
Bellewood Home for Children has announced that it received a grant from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services to provide in-home support and counseling to families in crisis. Bellewood serves abused, homeless and other troubled youths with offices in Louisville, Bowling Green, Lexington, Owensboro and Paducah. They provide residential treatment, foster care, independent living for young adults who have aged out of foster care and prevention services for unstable families. The grant will enable the Bowling Green office to add six new case managers.

The Family Preservation Program is a short-term, family-based crisis intervention program designed to assist families in crisis by improving parenting and family functioning while keeping children safe. The program has been successful in reducing re-entry into out-of-home care, accelerating family reunification and promoting family well-being. Bellewood now offers preservation services for several counties including Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson and Warren. To qualify for FPP services, families must be at imminent risk of child removal or have a child in foster care returning home. For more information about Bellewood, visit www.bellewood.org.

Three community leaders also joined the Board as Directors for a three-year term: Sandra Frazier, Tandem Public Relations; Jennifer Hughes, Deming, Malone, Livesay & Ostroff; and Wesley Jackson, The Courier-Journal. Also new on the board are Alice Baron as new president of the Junior League of Louisville, Richard Rowland as new president of the Louisville Urban League Young Professionals and Phillip Roberts as new president of the Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL).

Created in 1979, the Leadership Louisville Center is the region’s most valuable resource for leadership development and civic engagement. Its mission is to grow and connect a diverse network of leaders who serve as catalysts for a world-class community through dynamic programming and strong community connections. More than 6,000 community leaders have graduated from the Center’s programs that include Leadership Louisville, Focus Louisville, Ignite Louisville and Bingham Fellows. For information visit www.leadershiplouisville.org.

Urban Active in Top 10
Every year, Club Industry Magazine, the highly respected fitness business publication, ranks U.S. health club companies by total corporate revenues. Urban Active made the 9th place with reported $107.5 million revenue (up 7%), meeting their goal of making it into the Top 10 position of this year’s Club Industry’s “Top 100 Clubs List.” This is a notable leap from the business’ No. 11 ranking last year. Taking the Top 5 spots again this year were fitness heavy-hitters, 24 Hour Fitness ($1.5 billion), LA Fitness ($1.2 billion), Life Time Fitness ($1 billion), Club Corp ($725 million), and Bally Total Fitness ($468 million).

Urban Active Fitness has been voted one of “America’s Top 3 Healthiest Gyms in the US” according to Health.com and has been voted “Best Gym” in all of their markets. Urban Active has 36 Health & Fitness Lifestyle Clubs in seven states, with four locations in Louisville: Taylorsville, 4620 Taylorsville Road, Louisville, Ky., 502.671.8233; St. Matthews, 4900 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, Ky., 502.894.9911; Preston Highway, 6013 Preston Hwy, Louisville, Ky., 502.992.5447; and Dixie Highway, 7410 Dixie Hwy, Louisville, Ky., 502.271.2969. For more information, send emails to bordeauxprr@aol.com.